SPRINGFIELD – President Obama has signed a disaster declaration, allowing Pioneer Valley communities hammered by the October snowstorm to seek up to 75 percent reimbursement in cleanup costs, which in Springfield exceeded $20 million.

The news was welcomed Friday night by municipal leaders, some who said earlier they are struggling to pay the nonreimbursed costs of the June 1 tornado occurring almost five months before the snowstorm.

“This is good news,” said Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, reached at his inaugural ball.

The declaration means federal funding will be available to the state and local governments, and some private non-profit organizations in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties, as well as Berkshire, Middlesex and Worcester counties.

The storm, occurring Oct. 29 and 30, dumped a wet, heavy snow on the region, leaving a foot or more in some places. Leaf-laden branches and trees fell, downing power lines and blocking roads. In Western Massachusetts roughly 200,000 customers were left without power, some for as many as eight days, and 700,000 were without electricity statewide. Five deaths in the state were blamed on the storm.

The disaster declaration is the third for sections of the Pioneer Valley this year.

The others are for the ">June 1 tornado that swept through Hampden and Worcester counties, and flooding in Franklin and Hampshire counties associated with Tropical Storm Irene on Aug. 27 to 28.

Dennis Pinkham, the external affairs specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Administration Region 1 office that covers the New England states, said the declaration does not come with a set dollar amount. That will come later after the federal government receives a list of storm-related costs from cities and the state, and determines which is eligible for reimbursement.

Typically reimbursement is 75 percent federal money, he said.

Sarno said he had been in regular contact with the local FEMA office and with Gov. Deval L. Patrick and Rep. Richard E. Neal about reimbursement for snowstorm costs. Patrick requested the disaster designation.

Springfield had costs of more than $20 million for debris removal alone, Sarno said.

Patrick assured him that it was in the works and needed only the president’s signature, Sarno said.

“I’m very appreciative,” because the city sorely needs assistance with the cleanup costs, the mayor said.

The city had to remove more than 500,000 cubic yards of debris following the October snowstorm, he said. The total amount of debris from the June 1 tornado was about 160,000 cubic yards.

“There was three times the debris,” he said. “The tornado affected one-third of the city, but the freak October storm affected every part of the city.”

As a result of the declaration, Springfield is “starting the cycle again,” he said. “We’re just starting to get money from FEMA from the tornado, now we can push for the money from the snowstorm.”

In Monson, Selectmen Chairman Richard Smith called the signing of the major disaster declaration “great news for the town.”

“It definitely clears up some of our financial stress,” Smith said.

The cost of the storm in Monson is approximately $3 million, a figure that prompted selectmen to caution a worst-case scenario of a government shutdown for two years if no federal or state assistance came through. Smith said town crews are still cleaning up from the storm.

William D. Fuqua, general superintendent of the Holyoke Department of Public Works, had said whatever was uncovered by government funds may be funded through cash reserves or borrowing. But, Morse said, “I’m also committed to trying to get the state to cover the remaining $1 million.”

In Chicopee, storm cleanup was estimated at about $6 million. That’s slightly more than the surplus of $5.9 million, meaning that storm cleanup costs could have wiped out the surplus and that the federal reimbursement will let the city maintain some cash cushion, Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette said.

“It’s huge,” Bissonnette said.

Wilbraham Selectmen Chairman Patrick J. Brady said the federal disaster declaration is “very good news” for Wilbraham, which was hit by the tornado and a damaging July 26 microburst.

The cost estimate for the cleanup of the snowstorm in Wilbraham is $5 million, Brady said.

He said that if the federal government pays 75 percent of the bill, that will still leave the town with a sizable bill to pay.

Selectmen will receive a report from Town Treasurer Thomas Sullivan on how much must be borrowed to pay for the snowstorm and the microburst.

The town will then seek permission from the state Legislature to take more than the usual two years to repay the debt.

Brady said the town may incur debt from the storms, but he hopes the town will be able to manage the debt out of cash flow.
“We’ll manage it,” he said. Reporters Mike Plaisance, Suzanne McLaughlin and Lori Stabile contributed to this report.